Smoke
by Scorpiofreak
Summary: One-shot. It was the large cloud of smoke that first grabbed Jack's attention, then he saw the source of the toxic fumes; a two-story Victorian home, completely engulfed in roaring flames.


**AN: I wrote this out awhile ago as a drabble on my Winter Wonderland Tumblr blog but I decided to post it on Fanfiction just for fun. Sort of like an early Thanksgiving present to you guys. I'm so THANKFULL for all the support you guys give me!**

**Background Information: Since this one-shot isn't directly connected to my story, I guess you don't have to be a reader of my story to understand. The only thing you need to know is that Bunnymund was Alice's best friend when she was a child, before the fire destroyed her life.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians or Alice: Madness Returns.**

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_Reykr ~ Smoke_

_~O~_

It was the large cloud of smoke that first caught Jack's attention.

Even in the dead of night, the toxic fumes could be seen floating high into the air, polluting the midnight blue sky and blocking out the shining moon.

The Winter spirit had been lazily wandering around Europe, giving some of its colder parts a little extra snowfall, when he came across the burning building. If Jack were to take a wild guess on his location based on what little he could see of the stars and the cities he remembered passing, he would have to go with England. Probably somewhere around London, or maybe even Oxford.

The Fire Brigade was already there by the time Jack reached the scene. He hovered just above the tree line and watched the men battle the flames by drowning them with water. Spectators stood around silently on the side lines, watching with sullen faces as the two-story Victorian home continued to burn. Some of them were even crying.

Jack tightened his grip on his crooked staff as he moved closer to the fire, his icy blue eyes searching for a chance to help. It was only the second week into November but already a good amount of snow blanketed the ground. It wouldn't be much of a challenge for Jack to lend a hand with his powers over the ice and snow.

Perhaps he could enlist some help from the Wind, Jack's oldest and closest friend. He could ask the invisible spirit to help douse the fire by spreading the water that blasted out of fire hoses. Or maybe, Jack could gather up enough power in his staff and freeze the flames.

Several different ideas bubbled through Jack's mind as he moved closer to the house but once he got closer, the ideas shriveled up and dropped off. Jack has seen enough fires in his immortal life to know that by now, any efforts to help put out the fire would be pointless.

With only one look at the burning house, it was clear to Jack that every inch of structure was well on its way to becoming a charred crisp. If there were any people trapped inside, they were probably already dead.

The firemen also seemed to be aware of this. They had stopped trying to find a way inside and instead, focused on putting the fire out before it had a chance to spread to the surrounding trees and cause even more harm.

Jack's shoulders fell with remorse and he shook his head at the tragedy. He sat on a high branch in a nearby tree, wanting to stay close just in case the fire did spread, and silently watched the firemen work. From his spot in the tall tree, Jack was able to catch some of the quiet gossip that echoed throughout the gathered crowd of townspeople.

He thought he might've heard news of a possible survivor, a badly burned child. Jack couldn't decide whether to feel more relieved or saddened by the news. Yes, a child was able to escape the burning inferno, but it was a _badly burned_ child. There wasn't much talk of whether the child would live to see morning but at least there was some glimmer of hope that this night wouldn't end in the death of an _entire_ family.

The Winter spirit didn't hear any more promising news. The roar of the fire and shouts of the firemen were too loud. If there really was a survivor, Jack hoped that they would make it. He couldn't even imagine what the kid was going through. His or her parents were probably still inside the house.

Once the worst of flames were out and the firemen had finally gained control, Jack bowed his head in respect for the recently deceased souls. Then he stood up on the tree branch, perfectly balanced on its narrow surface. Before Jack pushed off into the air, he looked at the still crumbling Victorian home again. He let out a forlorn sigh at the structure. Before he stumbled across the fire, Jack was having such a good day. All those good feelings he had inside him just an hour earlier were long gone now.

Jack quietly called for the wind to take him home. Immediately, the wind whirled around Jack and pulled him back up into the air. Usually when the wind curled around him like it was doing now, Jack's racing mind would settle and he would feel more at ease, but not this time. Though grateful that his invisible friend recognized Jack's depressed mood and was trying to comfort him, all the wind did was bring the horrible and suffocating scent of smoke to his senses.

Before he could shoot off in the direction of his home at full speed, hoping to leave and forget that he had just witnessed someone's life go up in flames, _literally_, Jack stopped short when he noticed something sitting in the snow behind the burning house, close to the home but far away from everyone else.

Against his better judgment, Jack curiously moved closer to the house once again. He focused in on the figure and nearly fell out of the sky in surprise. With a dropped jaw, Jack recognized the figure instantly.

It was the Easter Bunny!

Jack has never met the spirit in person before but the fact that the figure was an over-sized bunny rabbit with long ears and a fluffy tail was obviously a dead giveaway. Jack couldn't come up with a single sensible reason why Bunnymund would be here instead of at his well-hidden warren in Australia. Easter was several months ago and the Sandman once told Jack that Bunnymund didn't venture out of his warren very often during Winter.

Had he just incidentally stumbled upon the disaster just like Jack had? Or was Bunny here for some other reason? Perhaps Jack would ask Sandy the next time he saw the stout, golden spirit.

Jack wanted to go down and ask the pooka himself but he wasn't sure that would go over so well. Other than Sandy, none of the other spirits seemed to like Jack very much. They all had something against Winter elementals apparently. They thought Jack was too _volatile_ and _unpredictable,_ or whatever. So after many years of trying in vain to gain their attention, Jack just gave up and kept to himself. It hurt, but Jack just tried to ignore his feelings of despair and loneliness. They wouldn't get him anywhere.

And besides, judging by the way the pooka was practically curled into a fluffy, trembling ball -seeming to be utterly _devastated _by the burning house, Jack didn't think Bunnymund would appreciate his intrusion very much.

Jack turned to leave the scene for good this time but once again, he stopped short when he noticed _yet another_ figure behind the house. This one was standing several yards behind the Easter Bunny, shrouded in the shadows of the trees. Jack's brow furrowed when he moved closer to the second figure. He couldn't see much from where he was but he could definitely see that the figure was very tall and slender, almost like...Pitch?

Was that Pitch Black?

Jack's mind flashed back to the tall, willowy spirit he had met briefly several decades back. Jack found the dark spirit very creepy and made sure to avoid seeing him again. His heart began to pound slightly at the prospect of having another run-in with the Boogeyman; however, when the large cloud of smoke in the air shifted and uncovered the moon for a few seconds, the moonlight revealed the mysterious figure to be just another human man. Not Pitch Black.

He was a tall, nicely dressed, bearded man with a pair of thin-wired glasses perched on the bridge of his long nose. He stood watching the fire with both hands clasped neatly behind his back. Jack couldn't see his eyes because of the glasses, but the man's face was completely void of all emotion as the flames danced in the reflection of his round lenses. Even when the house finally collapsed into a smoldering pile of wood and despair, his face remained blank.

It wasn't until the firemen started pulling bodies from the wreckage that a slow smirk stretched across his face.

The Wind started to howl slightly as it tugged on Jack's animal skin cloak, urging the Winter spirit to let it take him back home. He responded almost immediately to the Wind's persistence. Jack couldn't look at the man's expression of sick glee any longer.

Whoever that man was, he had a true, mean darkness surrounding him.

And it unsettled Jack to no end.

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**AN: So! What'd you guys think? Leave me a review and let me know! And sorry for any mistakes within the text. If you see one, just let me know in a review and I'll fix it.**

**Headcanon: Jack's age has to be somewhere in the two hundreds in this one-shot. He's friends with the Sandman at this point but he hasn't met any of the other guardians yet. Sandy occasionally tells him about them though.**

**Hope you enjoyed reading this!**

**~Scorpiofreak~**


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